Harper
by Eryn
Summary: Harper's first thoughts of the Andromeda


DISCLAIMER: Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda belongs to Tribune Entertainments. I am just borrowing the characters to play with for a while!

Follows An Affirming Flame

  
** HARPER**

**by Eryn Grant**

  


The door slid open with a hissing noise. Harper peered into the quarters he had chosen. "Oh yes," he exclaimed. "I am definitely in love." He had been right, the crew quarters on the Andromeda were out of this world.

The room was dazzlingly bright, clean and very spacious - larger than anything Harper had been used to on earth or the Eureka Maru. Looking up and down the corridor, he wondered if should ask permission first from Dylan although he imagined that his crew mates had probably already chosen their quarters, without permission, and were busily making themselves comfortable. 

He looked up and down the corridor again. The silence seemed to echo around him. Harper shivered slightly - he was used to noise and chaos, quiet made him nervous. He pulled a face at his uncharacteristic reluctance. "What am I doing?" Harper chastised himself under his breath as he took a step forward. He hefted his bag higher onto his shoulder as he stepped cautiously into the room. Still feeling jumpy, Harper couldn't help snapping his head back as the door slid closed behind him. 

He calmed himself as he stood surveying his new quarters. Clean, bright and white, the room was sparse in decoration, almost clinical. To his right was a small sitting area with chairs, a couch, a table and a work station complete with computer terminal. To his left was a small alcove which Harper guessed was the bathroom. A neatly made bed dominated the centre of the room. 

Dropping his bag to the floor with a clank, Harper moved around the large room. Humming to himself tunelessly in an effort to relieve the silence, he investigated every nook and crannie, opening drawers, trying out the chairs and couch, sitting at the table, turning on the computer and running his fingers over all the smooth dust-free surfaces. He couldn't help running his hands across the bulkheads, feeling the silent pulse of Andromeda's engines as she moved through space. "Freakin' wonderful," he whispered his voice full of awe, although a little part of him couldn't help missing the clanking and creaking of the Maru. "And a babe too," he grinned as he thought about the lovely female holographic image of the Andromeda. 

Suddenly tired of his exploration, Harper moved over to the bed sitting down gingerly. He bounced up and down to test the softness of the bed. "Yessss," Harper grinned as he swung his legs up on the bed bouncing some more. "I have died and gone to heaven," he chuckled re-energised as he sprang off the bed to explore the bathroom. 

After a quick tour of the bathroom, Harper stopped at the mirror on his way out. Staring at his reflection, he ran his hand through his blonde spikes making them stick up even more. Leaning closer to the glass, he studied the rash still visible on his neck fingering the redness cautiously, still surprised that it didn't itch any more. Harper ran a finger up and down the rash lightly not being able to stop a shudder at the thought of losing all his skin, muscles and dying a horrible death. "Note to Harper. From Harper," he grinned at his reflection, cocking his head to one side. "Don't forget what that nice ship lady said. Don't miss any bits." 

Wandering back into the main room, Harper retrieved his bag dumping it on the bed. He started to unpack his meagre belongings pushing aside the thought that this was the sum total of his life, stuffed into one small bag. He crammed all of his clothes into one of the drawers and lined his other two pairs of boots under the table. Finally, Harper carefully arranged his assorted spare tools next to the computer. 

Sitting on the bed, he delved into the bottom of the bag retrieving a small hard case. Opening it, he stared at the faded holo-photograph of his family. Harper traced a finger around the outline of each of the people in the holo-photograph, all now dead, except for his cousin Brendan and himself. "Hi," he murmured as he continued to run his finger over the image. He couldn't even remember the picture being taken, but it was his most precious possession, the only link to his past. With a small sigh, Harper placed the image on the small table by the bed. 

He suddenly felt restless, his mind filling with memories of his life in the refugee camp on earth - his family, the hunger and filthy living conditions they endured, the endless raids by the Nietzcheans and then the Magog. Memories he wanted to hide away forever, memories that made him feel like a small frightened child again. Harper shivered knowing, deep down, that the memories would never leave him, that they had become part of him, and that they would continue to haunt his dreams turning them into terrifying nightmares until the day he died. 

Slowly getting to his feet, Harper unclipped his tool belt laying it carefully on the table ready for the morning when they started their duty. He drifted aimlessly towards the large window. Wrapping his arms around himself, he leaned against the bulkhead staring out into the vast darkness of space. Forcing himself to think about their new mission, he consigned his painful memories to the back of his mind. 

He chuckled to himself idly wondering if Dylan Hunt knew what he was letting himself in for taking them on as his crew. Each of them had different reasons for joining the Andromeda, even the disturbing Nietzchean, Tyr. Dylan had promised them an adventure, a chance to do something important. Harper sort of liked the sound of that, but couldn't quite believe that Dylan would be able to build a new Commonwealth in the midst of such chaos. But for the first time in a many years, Harper felt something strange, something he hadn't felt for a long time - hope. He stared out into space. "We rule," he whispered to himself as he began to count the stars. 

  
***************  


Andromeda materialised on the Maru. Dylan had asked her to keep a watchful eye on his new crew, and during a routine system check, she had detected that the small blonde engineer with the rash had disappeared from his quarters. 

She tracked his life signs to the ageing ship in her hangar deck. Looking around her, Andromeda studied the small ship, not being able to help turning her nose up at the cramped, grimy interior, and the clanking and creaking noises the ship seemed to make. 

A small murmur from the left attracted her attention. Blinking, Andromeda re-materialised closer to the cramped bunk area. Cocking her head to one side, she studied the man curled up under the thin blanket of the top bunk. Harper was mumbling as his body twitched slightly - he looked vulnerable and childlike in sleep, so unlike the cocky young man she had observed and finally met on the medical deck. 

"You said you liked my showers and the real coffee," she thought as she recalled why this man had wanted to join Dylan's mission to restore the Commonwealth. "Why would you choose to sleep here?" Andromeda looked around the cramped conditions again. She couldn't understand the curious behaviour, and decided to ask Dylan in the morning. 

Harper murmured again as he rolled onto his back - he seemed to be having a nightmare. Andromeda wished she could reach out and touch the young man as he called out for his mother. Andromeda watched helplessly as he tossed and turned for a few minutes, trapped in his nightmare. 

She was just about to call Dylan for help when the Maru creaked loudly. Harper seemed to wake slightly. Raising his head, he blinked at Andromeda. "What a babe," he smiled as he turned back onto his side curling under the blanket. "I am definitely in love," he sighed. His eyes closed as he descended back into sleep. 

Andromeda raised her eyebrows. "Things are certainly going to get interesting around here from now on," she de-materialised to continue her system checks.  


THE END

  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  



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